Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. – Mark Twain
I’ve always felt like a nomad from as early as I can remember. Always felt an itch to move about. At the age of five, I informed some of those around me that I would travel when I became old enough. At that age, California and France were my destinations – they both seemed so far off and so intriguing. Someone asked me, “what’s wrong with right here?” It wasn’t that there was something wrong with “right there,” but rather that there was no way to know, because “right there” was the only place I had ever been.
When I was eleven, I traveled to Romania for humanitarian work. When I grew up, I traveled out west and then traveled to France and Spain to study during undergrad. These experiences did a couple things for me. First, it satisfied that itch to move about. Second, each time it challenged my thinking and opened my eyes. Third, it made me want to travel more. I feel at home when I’m traveling.
Taking the Kids Along
I’m a single dad with two kids. A son who is thirteen, and a daughter who is ten. There are a couple reasons I decided to travel with them. One, and this will surprise a lot of people, it’s cheaper. It’s cheaper for me to take my children and live abroad than for me to bring them to California for the summer. Housing, food, entertainment – everything is cheaper. Second, for the experience. Because of where my children spend much of their time when they are not with me, I feel it’s important to influence them in constructive ways. Travel helps me to do that. Third, education. When we travel, the kids learn new ideas, new skills, and even new languages, but they also learn to be open-minded and see the world for what it is – rather than the small corner they live in. Seeing the world through other’s eyes will (I hope) help them to have a different world-view.
It Really is Affordable
OK. So it’s not cheap. However, on a budget, it’s easier to afford than living in the US. Even when factoring in travel costs. Of course, this depends on how you travel. We travel light. But we also experience the local food and culture. For air tickets, I save points. I’m radical about points. The kids usually fly free on the points I save, and I buy my ticket (to keep my airline status).
And example. Last year, we stayed in a 2-bedroom 2-bath home at the beach in Ecuador for $65 a night. In California (back home) the same place would have cost at least $300-400 a night. Just a reasonable 2-bedroom in Southern California figures out to about $100 a night. In California, I’m able to feed us three on $100 week with whole ingredients that are organic (I did this as an experiment). In Ecuador, it was less. To go out to eat in California, it’s about $50 for three. In Ecuador, it was about $30 for a really nice meal for three, or $12 for a decent meal for three.
Each summer, we travel, and sometimes in-between.
